Not for Cassie
Today I had my long run, 11 miles. I ended up stopping a bit short at about 9. I was running back home along business rt. 30 when I noticed a small little animal jogging alongside the road with me. When I got closer, I noticed that it was a dirty, skinny, black and brown splotched cat. It didn’t seem to mark my presence, it just seemed to keep trotting down the road toward my house. I snapped at it and waved in front of its eyes, it didn’t notice…just kept going. When I got in front of it, it ran over to me and kind of sheltered/cuddled by my calf and then kept going.
Then it started weaving toward the street…concerned, I would scoop it up and then toss it into the grass, away from the road. The cat would hiss at me and come back out in the shoulder, either at me or at the road, I wasn’t sure. I was concerned that the cat was diseased and tried to keep my distance from it as it didn’t like how i would scoop it with my feet and kick it into the grass away from oncoming traffic. Trying to figure out what to do, I decided against risking picking it up since I thought it would probably bite me and not in a playful way. Hahahaha.
So I look around and try to see where I could call perhaps a shelter or someone who knows what to do with stray/feral cats that are in danger. That’s when I look back and the cat has wandered back into the road. A big truck of the 18wheel variety saw the truck and stopped. It honked at the cat, which retreated…
…and then after the first set of wheels rolled by, the cat tried to walk under the truck. It was killed in front of my eyes by the second set of wheels. It was a gruesome site.
Other people watched…people drove by…the trucker kept going. As far as their lives went, the case was closed and probably not even opened to some people who passed. But me…I couldn’t believe what had happened.
People just don’t give two shits about anything but themselves. How meaningful is a small, sickly cat’s life when compared to the cargo that you’re hauling and getting it where it needs to be on time? How about that cat’s life vs. picking your kids up from the school right in front of where the cat died? Or getting to the grocery store a few minutes later? Or perhaps deciding that getting bit by a wild cat isn’t worth the chance to save its life?
I am going to eternally regret that decision, not to just pick up the thing and bring it somewhere else. It had no collar, no obvious sign that anyone besides me cared about it. It doesn’t seem like anyone does care about it now even as it lies splattered on the road, all traces of it obliterated by the suburban traffic. Hahaha, even now, I fail to pick up the cat’s remains and give them a proper burial since I am concerned with the fact that cars will be driving by and that is a traffic risk. Amazing!
The emotions within me are varied and intense. Regret, remorse, fury. Fury as I walked back, watching everyone just going about their stupid, little lives. Fury that an animal, probably brought into this world as a result of careless pet ownership, had its life snuffed out for absolutely no reason. Fury that people should waste their time and resources on total bullshit like the SPINNING RIMS I saw yesterday, big houses that are half lived in, and jewelry when THEY COULD USE THEIR MONEY AND TIME TO HELP SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEMSELVES. For Christ’s sake if anyone reads this and feels at all affected by this personal story, go out and help something, be it an animal or a human. Just help them. Take a moment out of your life, realize all the shit you waste and take some of that wasted time/money and help something with it. If you see something that needs your help, stop and help it. Don’t be embarassed and don’t hesitate. Do what’s right.
I drove to my student’s home after all this and I have to drive through Coatesville. Coatesville can be a real shithole. I saw this black guy with his stupid fucking pants hanging literally halfway down his thigh. His boxers too. I could literally see his ass. I saw his big, gay golden chain, looked into his eyes and I became completely furious. I wanted him to be under that truck’s tires.
Call me a racist, I frankly don’t give a fuck.
I don’t care about most humans. Humans dig their own graves. We, supposedly, have higher thinking ability and whatnot and can more or less make our destinies. Animals suffer as a result of our "progress." They suffer, they die and they don’t know why. That’s why I pity suffering animals without exception and suffering humans with prejudice.
Yeah, I had to pull to the side of the road and shoo a dog away from the road a few weeks ago. Finally, after minutes of me frantically trying to catch the little guy, the owner came walking out of his home nonchalantly, and was like “oh, did he get out again?” No concern that his dog was running alongside traffic. I was pissed. So, yeah, I know what you mean. ~WEAVER
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Love this entry. Couldn’t agree more.
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I would literally be in tears if I were you. My dog runs away in our development and I cry the entire time, even though there’s not even THAT much traffic, but still. I walked into an abandoned house one time with a friend, and there was a diseased cat. Clearly. And we wanted to help it, but not get bit. So we brought a crate. It was extremely sad. =/ Nice cat, too. It wanted to be loved.
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I agree with you 9 million%. I wish to every god that you did not see that. I wish I was there with you now. Little thing could have had a disease, sounds like maybe he had diabetes. I know my cat lost a lot of weight and was blind and deaf. If he got out of his home and wandered off he would have been very scared, which could be why he was aggressive with you. You are so wonderful weirdo.
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little thing knows you were trying to help it. You did everything you could. we will make an animal sanctuary one day 🙂 and execute all the people who are bastards.
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What a sad story! People just dont value animals lives as much as a human life. And it makes me sad. To me, they are both of the same value.
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How sad 🙁 I’m sorry you had to see that. I was once driving and saw someone throw a kitten out their window onto the freeway. I pulled over and looked for it for half an hour. I was so sad, and I never did find it. That was almost 10 years ago and it still bugs me.
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side note – holy toledo! 11 miles? Sheesh. I’m winded thinking about it let alone doing it. I walk everywhere, and that’s about as good as it gets for me 😀
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I’ve never seen an animal killed in front of me, and being and avid animal lover, I would be heart broken too;however, if the trucker decided to stop, image how many people would have been hurt/possibly killed. An 18-wheeler is sort of hard to stop suddenly. It is sad that no one cared for that cat, and stories like this make me love my dog so much more.
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That is a hard thing to witness, but don’t feel remorse about your decision. There is a fine line between caring for other things and regard for yourself, because if it did have rabies or some disease and bit you then saving it would cause a lot more trouble in general, whether or not you have any regard for your self compared to other things. You did the right thing, don’t feel bad.
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As someone who is a 4th generation resident of Coatesville, it honestly is not as bad as many perceive it to be. There are certain areas that are worse but for the most part it’s a great city. As for the cat, if you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, try the Cat Angel Network. They run adoptions out of the Petsmart in Downingtown.
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God I know exactly how you feel. Last week I was driving down a rather deserted unpaved road near where I live, out in the middle of nowhere with no houses anywhere nearby, and as I’m creeping along in the car (it’s very bumpy), these three adorable puppies came bounding out of the woods, tails wagging. Someone had clearly abandoned them there and it broke my heart to see the hope in their (cont.)
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eyes fade away as I drove off. I wanted to take all of them home then and there but there’s no way I could have a dog, much less three. You know someone was just neglectful and allowed their dog to have puppies that they didn’t want. It doesn’t affect that person at all, but look at how those animals are going to suffer because of their ignorance.
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What a shame the cat you kicked but wouldn’t take home for fear of disease died and the black guy with the gay gold chain lives. Damn insensitive truckers and commuters who barely noticed the cat! Damn scary black people in big bad Coatesville! Life is unfair. That cat was lucky she/he encountered you. You kicked it long enough to give it two or three more minutes of life.<P>
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Agreed.
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*looks up* someone did not get the point.
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For real, they should’ve had a road crew out there and everything, and the signs on the freeway that are used for amber alerts could’ve flashed and read “DEAD CAT ON I-20, SOMEONE, DO SOMETHING!’. Terrible, terrible business life is. I bet that cat will be reincarnated as a black guy with a love for gaudy jewelry and spinning rims.
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Hope you are feeling better. *huggles*
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RYN: About the letter writing, do I just put that on the envelope then? Caitlin, x.
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*random noter* Unfortunately it does seem like most people couldn’t give a shit. We live in an age where most people are self-centred and self-focused. This entry is a good wake-up call though for us not to be like that. To not be so apathetic about everything. I’d like to think I would do something but I guess you never know for sure unless you’re in that situation.
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